>>In the meantime if you have them often and they are painful (aren't they always?) <<

No, they're not always. The two times I can remember having them, I was mostly asymptomatic, and surprised when I was told by a doctor that I had a UTI. The last time was in March, when I went for my annual gyno exam. Had no clue. The first time I was in boot camp, but with the conditions there, you have to expect some sort of infection at some point!

So now I walk around wondering if I have a UTI, because I seriously have no recognizable symptoms. Or maybe I've had them often for 25 years (since boot camp) and just consider the mild, vague symptoms my normal state of being??? It's a dilemma--

Karen